McLaren's Piastri wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

McLaren's Oscar Piastri has won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the 17th round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship, on Sunday.

The Australian driver was the winner of the 51-lap GP held at 6.003-kilometer- long (3.7-mile) Baku City Circuit with a time of an hour, 32 minutes, and 58.007 seconds.

"The last couple of laps, once [Leclerc] dropped out of DRS, were a little bit more relaxing, but there’s no such thing as a relaxing lap around here, so it was hard work. It definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career," said Piastri.

Leclerc was just 10.91 seconds behind Piastri to finish second, while Mercedes' George Russell came third as he was 31.328 seconds behind the winner.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull passed the finish line 77.098 seconds behind the winner.

It was Piastri’s second win of the season as the 23-year-old driver previously won the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.

Verstappen, the three-time Formula 1 world champion, currently leads the driver standings with 313 points.

The Round 18 of the season will be held in Singapore on Sept. 22.

- Driver standings

1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands): 313

2. Lando Norris (Great Britain): 254

3. Charles Leclerc (Monaco): 235

4. Oscar Piastri (Australia): 222

5. Carlos Sainz (Spain): 184

- Constructor standings

1. McLaren: 476

2. Red Bull: 456

3. Ferrari: 425

4. Mercedes: 309

5. Aston Martin: 82